There and Back Again: A Pony's Journey

There and Back Again: A Pony's Journey

Chapter 1: Tranquility and Chaos.

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves."

Andre Gide.

I would like to dedicate this story to all those who love adventure, to J.R.R. Tolkien, whose works inspired me to write, and to JetFire, whose universe this is based in.

Ashdale was a quiet village nestled at the bottom of the mountain ranges that seperated the Griffin kingdoms and Equestria. It sat in the far northern part of Equestria. To the west of it were the Griffin Kingdoms, to the east lay Germaneigh and, eastern more, the Tramplevanian Alps.

Because of where Ashdale was, it made for a perfect vantage point for the annual Dragon Migration as it came ‘round. The drakes would soar and snarl far above the roofs of the villagers. Some would even dive and perform acrobatics, earning the amazement of the young colts and fillies. It is on one particular migration, however, that our story begins. A story of adventure, friendship, and courage.

On this morning a fire drake named Athest, or ‘The Destroyer’ as he is known by his victims, came down from the mountains to lay waste to Ashdale. Athest was an incredibly greedy Dragon, therefor he was very large and the alpha of his flock. Athest wanted nothing more than to devour, and steal anything he saw worthy of his time. On this day, Athest sought out a new prize, this time, from Ashdale: The Aurora Stone.

The Aurora Stone possessed magical properties ever since it was gifted to the founder of Ashdale by King Frinure II, high king of Griffinheim’s second age. The stone was enchanted by a Griffin sorceress to keep the harshness of the weather at bay, which is why the village withstood to be where it was. Without it, Ashdale would be consumed by the howling blizzards of the Griffin mountains.

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The late fall air nipped at the snouts of the townsponies that strolled along about their business. The occasional snow flurry fell from the sky and collided with the cobblestone streets. It was a beautiful morning, especially compared to the usual groggy mornings the little mountain town was accustomed to.

Neon Flash, a pegasus, trotted down the street and through the marketplace. He nodded at passers by and even went so far as to give a hearty “Hello!”.  He was a member of the mountain weather patrol. The MWP didn’t create the weather for Ashdale, like the pegasi did for the other parts of Equestria, but instead cleared any foul weather that was able to get past the Aurora Stone’s influence. Most of Ashdale’s weather was borrowed from over the mountains from the Griffins. The patrol mainly cleared away the streets and pushed away any amount of snow that had accumulated on the mountainside.

The rest of the year, before the snowy seasons, Neon was a member of the Pegasi branch of the Ashdale guard. One never knew when a gang of Griffin bandits or a rogue gaggle of boars may come bumbling by. Though it was always open to attack, Ashdale didn’t really have anything of value to take, aside from the Aurora Stone, but a pony could never be too careful.

Neon reached the town square and began to do his pre-flight stretches. He unfolded his pale yellow wings and thrust his chest forward. He leaned his head back and allowed his light green hair to flow in the mountain breeze. The cold didn’t really bother him, nor did it bother any pegasi, in fact. Pegasi were naturally immune to the cold, they had to be if they ever were to gain any altitude during flight.

Neon’s back gave a few pops and he grunted with relief. Time to get this over with.  He thought. He always hated weather duty. There wasn’t any duty to it, he would just fly around or re-route snowflakes. Not exactly my kind of work.

He gave his head a few more shakes and flapped his wings. He took flight. Higher and higher he soared. He passed the influence of the Aurora Stone and immediately felt the difference. The wind blew much more strongly and the snow flurries whipped much faster past his face. He reached a point in the sky he felt comfortable with and began to scan. He spotted a large snow drift that began to form higher up on the slope. He sighed and started to head for it, when he heard the sound of hard, heavy wingbeats. He froze.

Dragons! He thought, a sudden chill running down his spine. The dragons didn’t really bother Ashdale, but a pegasus that happened to wander into their migration path, well that might be a different story. Neon dove, quickly reducing his altitude. He whirled around just as a large flock of drakes began to fly overhead. They gave a long growl as they passed, warning him to keep his distance. He gave a quick sigh of relief and turned to resume his duties. As he turned, however, he caught a quick glimpse of something. He took another look to confirm what he had just seen. His heart sank. He turned and darted back to town. He tried to shout but he couldn’t find his voice. He turned to look again, hoping that the circumstances weren’t true. He collided into a white unicorn. Was he really that close to the ground? It didn’t matter! He had to warn everypony!

“What’s your problem??” The unicorn said as he picked himself and the bags he was carrying off the ground. Neon still couldn’t find his voice, all he could do was shakily point toward the sky. The unicorn followed his hoof and then he saw it, blotching out the sun to the east. A winged figure with a wide toothy grin. Neon finally found his words. He screamed.

“DRAGON!!”

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MonoChrome emerged from the inn where he was staying while at Ashdale. He studied dragons as sort of a hobby. He traveled north from Manehatten to get a glimpse of their northern migration paths. The light breeze whipped his black mane and his black and white scarf. This Aurora Stone really works wonders. He thought as he secured his saddlebags to his flanks. After he was satisfied and his bags weren’t going anywhere, he set out. He came to a low bridge that ran over a small stream. He sat on his haunches and propped his front legs on the side of the bridge. He acquired a pencil and notebook that he used to take notes from his bag and looked to the sky with anticipation. He saw the first flock of drakes fly over the mountain from the north. Then he saw something peculiar. A pegasus? In the migration path? He had better move. He then saw the pegasus dart below behind houses, obstructing himself from Chrome’s view. He looked back up to see his herd had flew behind him. Chrome packed his things and began to trot briskly. Maybe they’ll get into a fight mid-air! That’d be a sight! He shuddered with glee. Maybe even- WHAM! Chrome was knocked flat, his bags flung everywhere. He got to his hooves and levitated his bags back onto his flanks.

“What’s your problem??” He asked eyeing what had hit him. It was the pegasus from before, he looked absolutely terrified. He sat shaking on the ground and moving his jaw up and down trying to form words. Chrome arched an eyebrow. The pegasus then lifted his hoof toward the sky. Chrome followed it. He then saw it, massive, blocking the sun even. Chrome’s eyes grew wide. He looked to the pegasus.

“DRAGON!!” the pegasus screamed. Passersby stopped and wheeled toward the source of the sound, then craned their heads up to the sky. In seconds the town was in a panic. Chrome yanked the pegasus off the ground.

“We gotta tell the guards!” said Chrome. The pegasus nodded in reply. The two ran as fast as they could to the front gate. A blue-grey earth pony met them half way.

“What’s going on??” The guard asked.

“Dragon! Sound the alarm!” The pegasus shouted. The earth pony nodded.

“Follow me” he said. “Quickly!”

The three sprinted for the front gate. they scurried up the ramp. They then reached a large gong, roughly 6ft. in diameter. The earth pony whirled around and bucked the instrument as hard as he could, producing a resonant sound that echoed over the screams of the townsponies.

“Now what?” Chrome puffed.

“Now, we head for th-” the earth pony was cut off. A swift gust of wind came in fierce and fast. It destroyed the gate where the ponies stood, sending them flying toward the center of town. The dragon let out a beastly roar as it glided over head and slowly landed.

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WallCloud was the newest recruit of the Ashdale guard. He had always wanted to join the guard and follow in his father’s hoofsteps. He was absolutely ecstatic. He rose early, polished his armor, shined his hooves, he even combed out his tail. He had to make a considerable appearance, of course. He trotted proudly, displaying his armor. He reached the gate and assumed his post upon the wall.  He stood proudly at the top, flashing a cool smile at the occasional mare that would walk by. He observed the valley below, then he heard a shout. He turned and saw a unicorn and a pegasus lying on the ground.

I better go break that up he thought. He descended the ramp and looked to the two again, this time the unicorn was standing and the pegasus was pointing to something above and behind him. The the pegasus shouted.

“DRAGON!!”  WallCloud jumped at these words and whirled around to peer into the sky, he was right! A huge dragon was descending upon Ashdale! WallCloud heard the screams and panic of the villagers, he turned and ran towards the two he had seen earlier.

“What’s going on??” Wallcloud asked.

“Dragon! Sound the alarm!” The pegasus shouted. WallCloud nodded.

“Follow me, quickly!” he wheeled and sprinted toward the gate. The dragon grew closer, frightenly close. He could feel the wingbeats in his head, throbbing, relentless.

They reached the top of the gate and to the alarm. WallCloud turned and bucked hard, making the gong resonate across the village.  He turned to the others.

“Now what?” the unicorn asked.

“Now we head for the-” WallCloud was cut off. A large gust of wind from the dragon’s mammoth wing knocked the ponies away and completely destroyed the gate. WallCloud spun sickilly through space. He saw the ground approaching fasster and fasster then WHAM! He saw nothing but black.

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Neon coughed as he was jerked to his hooves. His head rang and his vision blurred. His senses slowly began to return. He could hear the muffled screams and the roaring terror of dragon fire, then he saw the unicorn standing in front of him yelling. He had the unconscious guard on his back and had Neon himself in a shaking magical grip.

“WE Ha- -ET O-f ST-EET-” He was yelling. Neon shook his head.

“WE HAVE TO GET OFF THE STREETS!” Neon finally comprehended.He groggily got to his feet then was jerked hard to the left. He glanced just as a clump of bricks came crashing down. This snapped him to attention.

“WE HAVE TO GO NOW!” Chrome said. Neon nodded.

“We can take shelter in the wine cellar down the block!” Neon said. “This way!”

Neon and Chrome bolted down the street. Chrome glanced up and saw the dragon perched atop what had to be the Duke’s tower. It gave a primal roar and with a quick twist of it’s thick tail, it brought the tower crashing down, causing a domino effect that headed right toward the two sprinting ponies.

“THERE IT IS, JUST AHEAD!” Neon yelled. He looked as one by one the buildings began to topple.

“GO!” Chrome yelled as he, WallCloud in tow, and Neon lept for the entrance and tumbled down the stairs just as the rubble slammed against the door.

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“Oh dear!” Said a white unicorn mare as she almost dropped her cup of tea from her magical grasp.

“What’s wrong, sugarcube?” An orange earth pony asked from across the table. “Ya have another vision?”

“I still don’t get how that works” a sky-blue pegasus asked from the other end.

“Yes, it’s more of the same, but this time I saw something else.” The unicorn explained. “I still saw the glimpses of dragon’s fire, a beautiful gemstone, a vast ocean, but I saw something new. A glimpse of 3 ponies…. coming here.”